You Remind Me
by deanine
Summary: This is a GohanVidel fic, set post Buu. There is a bit of psychological dramaangst, some romance. Goten and Trunks get to help out with the unique bad guy. The End
1. Young Love

Note: I have only seen cartoon network DBZ. Continuity issues that go beyond that, I'm uneducated on.  
  
Betas: Ane S. Thesia, Keith, and Eloy Brightdreamer thank you very, very much :)  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A young woman with short-cropped black hair floated high above the earth. A strong wind pulled at her hair and clothes tugging her in their eddies. "I'm so high." The whispered words seemed almost sacrilegious in the chill morning air. The world stretched out below, a sea of browns and greens crisscrossed by roads. It all seemed so normal and quiet.  
  
Flying was something he'd given her. Something he'd learned as a child. It had been expected of him. He was a half-Saijin, son to a real hero. He was supposed to fly, and fight, and save the world.  
  
The young woman squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. It shouldn't be so peaceful. The world shouldn't sleep while its fate is being struggled for. Men were pouring their bodies and souls into fighting some vague evil. A big bad destructive force had found its way to the Earth again. As though it could sense the powerful beings who had made this planet their home, evil after evil came to test its power. Ghosts of monsters destroyed danced just beyond reality, Freeza, Cell, Buu...  
  
Funny thing about being a hero; people don't think about the dying. Death was almost always part of the gig. Sooner or later, men like that die in their struggles, if not fighting this evil, then the next or the next.  
  
He could already be dead, blasted to nothing. His father was dead; he died a young man, leaving two children and a wife. The peaceful sky darkened as if in response to the morbid thoughts of the girl floating in it's midst.  
  
But he was more than some gladiator. He had a mind and a sense of humor. He knew how to live. She could tell that almost from the first time they met. A lack of malice was perhaps the best way to describe it. He didn't want to hurt anyone or anything. He didn't love to fight and definitely not to kill. Yet, every defining moment of his life seemed to be born out of violence and death. Eventually that defining moment would be his own death.  
  
"I don't want you to die, Gohan!"  
  
********************  
  
"Videl, baby, you're going to be late for school if you don't get up. You already missed your morning run. It isn't like you to sleep in."  
  
A tousled Videl poked her head out from under a thick blanket. "Right, sorry Daddy. I was just dreaming."  
  
The massive man stretching in their living room was Hercule, media darling, martial artist, and fraudulent hero. Videl didn't hold it against him and she'd never confronted him about his lies. Gohan and his family weren't interested in the notoriety or the credit her father thrived on. The only thing to be gained would be to hurt her dad, something she'd never do intentionally.  
  
"Tell your old dad about it. A good dream, I hope," Hercule said.  
  
Videl shrugged. "You know I don't remember." She caught sight of the clock and muttered a curse too quiet for her father to overhear. "I am gonna be late."  
  
Hercule grinned at his scampering daughter. She was fast, even when she wasn't fighting. The bathroom door slammed cutting off Videl's mad rush through her morning rituals. A grin crept slowly over the fighter's hairy face. He had really raised that girl right, a chip off the old block. She was going to be a world champion martial artist someday, as long as she stayed focused.  
  
A knock at the door interrupted Hercule's self-congratulations. "Yeah, what is it?" He pulled the door open and his face immediately fell. It was the skinny kid, the evil alien, one of the fighters who killed Cell and busted up the World Martial Arts Tournament last year. "What are you doing here?" The normal bravado in his voice was absent.  
  
"I'm walking Videl to school. Is she ready?" Gohan asked. He smiled and made a little half-bow.  
  
Hercule could just hear the shower in the background. Videl deserved better than a dangerous alien boyfriend. "Sorry kid, Videl already left. Must not have been interested in an escort."  
  
Gohan's smile faded a couple of degrees. And the shower was running to test the plumbing? "I see. Thank you anyway." Hercule's response, a slammed door, finished obliterating Gohan's good mood. "Just let me pick the splinters out of my teeth." He wasn't angry at Hercule's reaction, the man didn't like him or any of the Saijins. Well, Videl was the only reason he even cared what that big goofball thought. Gohan took the high-class apartment building's steps two and three at a time then merged into the sea of people flowing down the city street.  
  
Videl, the main reason for his foul mood, had been distant since the battle with Buu. She didn't want to train, date, nothing. This walk was supposed to be a chance to talk through what was eating her. And now she had her dad running interference, lying to him. It wasn't something Gohan had wanted to believe, but maybe she'd had a chance to think about who he was, and maybe she didn't like it. Maybe she was more like her father than he'd ever thought.  
  
Well there were more important things in the world than mooning over a girl who didn't even want to see him. There was school. Integral calculus was not the walk-in-the-park differential had been, and the ancient literature elective had been a mistake. Not to mention his other responsibility, the one he tried to ignore for seven years.  
  
Vegeta had been right, he hadn't been training properly in the time between Cell and Buu's arrival. It could have cost the world its existence. Never again, he'd promised himself when his father wrested him from the gut of that monster. He'd be ready the next time a big ugly decided to pick on his corner of the galaxy, but first, calculus.  
  
***************  
  
Within a dark cathedral a dull blue glow illuminated a tiny circle around an oblong crystal. Sharp contorted shadows hinted at horrors just out of sight. One of the shadows moved, slowly, gracefully, into the light. A long lithe body and strong sculpted face, framed by slightly curling blond hair, the man was breathtakingly beautiful. Then he opened his eyes. They were empty, the same dull blue as the glowing crystal. The man dropped to his knees and the crystal's light grew stronger. "You called, my lady?"  
  
"Who are you?" a disembodied cold voice demanded.  
  
"My name is Rinback. I was born more than two thousand years ago, on a planet called Orven. Third son to a Master General, I was trained to fight. I loved and lost, and I fought many battles before I came to stand before you, and my life truly began." The words were spoken like scripture. It was part of their dance, their symmetry.  
  
"I loved you well. Have you loved me, my Rinback, my lover?" The crystal's strength continued to grow and the light was gradually filling the chamber.  
  
"I gave you my soul, lady, and all the love in it." Rinback reached out and the ghostly image of a woman, appeared above the crystal. She might have been beautiful. "I gave you all I am, lady." The light had gradually pulled the shadows into it's embrace, revealing the source of the contorted forms; the room was filled with statues, a thousand different types of aliens, some humanoid, many not, all rendered in perfect unchanging blue crystal.  
  
"I am dying, lover. Our world is dying again." The form of the woman took on a slightly more cohesive state. "I can't even touch you now."  
  
Rinback began to tremble. "Take my life first lady. You must not die."  
  
"You will save me then? You love me so much?" The energy of the crystal immediately began to gather into a ball of light. "Then take the last of my energy, and find him, one who can save me." The ball of energy flashed and flew into Rinback's chest. 


	2. Confessions

Chapter 2  
  
Sunlight filled a large amphitheater style classroom full of sleepy-eyed high school students. The young woman in front of the room was scribbling formulas across the bottom of a huge graph. "Come on guys, this is easy. Where does the asymptote approach zero?"  
  
Videl stared hard at the numbers on the chalkboard and back at the scribbling on her sheet. Why the heck did I ever take a calculus elective? Oh yeah, Gohan was going to tutor me. Videl gnawed at her pencil eraser. We should talk. Of course, he hadn't shown up this morning to walk her to school like he had said he would. Maybe he was tired of getting the run around. Maybe he was tired of her. Videl blinked fast so her vision would clear. She did not cry over... well anything.  
  
"Okay, I want you guys finished with chapter 3 before tomorrow. If you need help, remember my office hours. Later people," the teacher said. The last of the woman's comments were lost in the rustle of book-bags and jackets.  
  
Videl followed the flood of students out to the quad. Once outside, everything seemed clearer. It was a perfect fall day, warm but with a hint of north wind. She'd talk to Gohan, tell him about her persistent nightmare. "I keep dreaming that you're dead and I'm alone. I might as well tattoo, I'm hopelessly in love with you on my forehead," Videl muttered to herself. He'd laugh at how stupid she was being. What were the odds that anything worse than Cell or Buu even existed? Letting things that hadn't even happened keep her up nights. He'd laugh.  
  
And there he was, propped against a Ginko tree that was already dropping it's yellow fan-shaped leaves. His face was half-buried in some textbook. "Gohan, hey." Videl waved. He looked up and waved her over. "So what are you up to, studying?"  
  
Gohan shrugged. "A little. You should see my mom with a bad grade report. She's scary." He couldn't quite meet her eyes when she plopped down next to him. She was acting normal for a change, like when they were first friends.  
  
"Scarier than me when I get stood up?" Videl asked half-joking.  
  
"Well, I showed this morning. You'd already left?" They both knew that wasn't true, but Gohan wasn't going to split hairs. Leaving early or having Daddy run interference, avoidance was avoidance. He tossed his book aside. "Not to mention you're dad, slamming the door in my face. Could he get any more hostile?"  
  
Videl rocked back. Talk about being a bit hostile. Her dad was... well her dad. She'd thought Gohan understood his hang-ups. It wasn't her fault. "How late did you get there? I couldn't exactly wait around till first period was over. You probably interrupted my dad's training. He hates that."  
  
Gohan took a deep breath. Fighting wasn't what he'd wanted to do. He just wanted things to be right again. Videl was an important part of his life. If she couldn't handle his subtle romantic move, he'd back off. Losing her outright, he couldn't stand that. "Whatever, it's okay. I can take a hint." Gohan stuffed his backpack and smiled sadly. "We're friends. If you want, we can still train together."  
  
Videl frowned and shook her head. That came out of nowhere. Still train together? "Are you dumping me?"  
  
Gohan was careful to avoid eye contact. He didn't want her to see how much it hurt to give up on his stupid romantic fantasy. She deserved better than some ineloquent guy who couldn't get along with her dad, and she definitely deserved better than some guy who almost didn't live up to his job defending the planet. "Not exactly. We weren't really going out. One date doesn't count, right? You can stop avoiding me and acting weird. Let's go back to being just friends, okay..." Gohan was quick to turn away so she wouldn't see him wipe his eyes. "Now I have to go pick up my brother and Trunks. We're going to Master Roshi's to train this afternoon, if you want to stop by, feel free. Krillin is a great sparring partner, you know."  
  
Videl sat stunned while Gohan walked away. That stupid little boy, he was going to give up on 'them' just because she had needed some time to think. "Wait, Gohan." She abandoned her books and sprinted after him. "You, wait." She caught his shoulder and spun him around to face her. She could see there were tears in his eyes. This was hurting him too. Why did men have to be so dense? He was going to make her say it. "I think I'm in love with you, you idiot. We are going out, and you're not breaking up with me like that."  
  
The tension headache that had been forming between his eyes vanished and Gohan's mouth dropped open. "But."  
  
Stupid, stupid man, how dare he make her say it first. Videl punched Gohan as hard as she could in the gut. He barely grunted, and her fist hurt, but she felt better. "That's for trying to break up with me without even asking what was going on. I've been driving myself crazy about you." Videl's voice cracked on crazy, ruining the tough-girl façade she was throwing out.  
  
Gohan couldn't help himself, he smiled at her temper tantrum. God, she was beautiful. It was easy to remember why he loved her. She was strong and sexy and she knew him, his dreams and fears. Not to mention that new but important fact, she loved him too. Why hadn't he seen it? "You haven't been trying to break up? Then why the cold-shoulder? Why so distant?"  
  
Videl shrugged. "I don't know... I was scared of loving someone who's going to leave me." Gohan shook his head but Videl stopped him from talking. "Just hear me out. I guess it started when I was listening to Goten and Trunks talk about the battle with Buu, and how they all thought you were dead for a while. I started thinking about death. Do you realize how many times you've nearly been killed, what kind of odds you face on a semi-regular basis. You're going to die on some battle-field in some crusade for some noble cause. That'll be it. Game over. And I'd be alone. More than anything, I wanted to walk over and make you promise not to fight anymore. My whole life's been about fighting and training, and I knew I didn't have the right, so I just... I wasn't going to be in love with you anymore."  
  
"That worked?" Gohan asked.  
  
Videl threw her hands up. "No it didn't work. It just drove me crazy and hurt you. Can you forgive me?"  
  
"You avoided me and wouldn't talk for months." Gohan grinned. "Because you were worried about me, and you love me." Gohan wanted to jump into the air and soar with the birds. This was what it felt like to love someone, and have them love you back. It was like a drug, an intoxicating rush of emotions. Maybe he should kiss her, something.  
  
I told him I loved him, and he didn't say it back. Videl punched him again. Maybe he wasn't ready to say it. Maybe he really did want to break up. "Maybe I do love you, maybe I don't. Shut up about it."  
  
"No, it's a good thing." She said it first, 'I love you.' "I've been in love with you for a long time." A blush spread over Gohan's cheeks. He started to lean in for a kiss but faltered. Small steps. They had all the time in the world.  
  
One of the students who had gathered around the fighting couple seemed to notice the almost-kiss. "You're 'supposed' to kiss her, you big dope."  
  
Gohan's blush deepened and Videl's cheeks began to burn as well. "Show's over, jerks," Videl said. She pulled Gohan down to plant a peck on his cheek, and the small crowd applauded. "I'll see you this afternoon," she whispered into his ear.  
  
****************  
  
A blue light, lightning maybe, flashed on a busy street in Satan City. Some people stopped and commented about the impressive percussion, most hardly took notice. As for the new figure on the street, he adjusted to motion of the crowd quickly. He was dressed oddly in a long cloak, and his armor clinked when he moved. Aside from a few glances at his radical fashion statement involving plate metal, he went unnoticed.  
  
Rinback adjusted his cloak, and ducked down the nearest side alley. He pulled a small blue crystal shard out of his pocket and held it up on his palm. After a moment six tiny ghostly sprites appeared. "Find a strong one," Rinback whispered. I must not fail again. "Someone on this planet will be able to kill me."  
  
The tiny sprites flew out in different directions. Less substantial than puffs of smoke they passed through the minds of people on the streets, looking for a single thing, a strong man, a warrior. After an absence of minutes the sprites began to return to their energy source. One of the smoky creatures lighted on Rinback's palm and bowed. The others hovered nearby. "Their greatest warrior is named Hercule. He is their champion, their strongest."  
  
"Does he fit the profile? Can he be made to serve?" Rinback asked.  
  
A different sprite lit on his hand. "It is unlikely, but if he is the most powerful on this world."  
  
"He may know one who would," the first sprite hissed. "There are great and powerful beings on this world."  
  
"Of course, my friends. The crystal would not have brought us here otherwise," Rinback said. "Do we have a location on this Champion?" The sprites nodded in unison. "Show me." 


	3. Ewww... Cooties

Chapter 3  
  
Two boys in torn school uniforms were peaking around the side of a brick schoolhouse at a small cluster of little girls jumping rope and singing some mindless rhyme.  
  
"Do I haf-to, Trunks?" Goten whined.  
  
Trunks nodded severely. "If you don't then she'll make you."  
  
"She can't make me. She's not tough enough," Goten said. "I'd fly away if I had to."  
  
Trunks shook his head and sighed. "But you're not allowed to fly at school."  
  
Goten groaned and looked at his shoes. "Okay, but you haf-to watch and if she tries to make me, you help." Trunks shoved his best friend around the corner and concealed himself to watch.  
  
Cautiously, Goten approached a red-haired girl whose long locks were tied back in pig-tails. She was singing along with the jump rope song and clapping. He reached out carefully and tugged the red ribbon out of her right pigtail. The rubber-band supporting the hair style remained behind, and the girl didn't seem to notice, but when he went for the left ribbon, she grabbed his hand.  
  
"If it isn't Goten," she said. Her smile revealed a double row of braces.  
  
"Hi, Jenny." Goten grinned and tried to hide the other ribbon behind his back.  
  
She leaned over and gave Goten a sloppy kiss on the nose. "There, now we're married. I told you, you were my boyfriend."  
  
Goten screamed and almost forgot that he wasn't supposed to fly. "TRUNKS!!!!" He pulled his hand loose and ran for cover where Trunks was. "You didn't help!!!" His friend was curled up on the ground laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.  
  
"You let her kiss you," Trunks gasped. Sometimes Goten could be so pliable it was ridiculous. "Now you've got girl cooties." Goten plopped down and started rubbing his nose valiantly on his dirty shirtsleeve.  
  
"Shut up," Goten said. He gave up wiping his face and glared at Trunks. "If I have cooties, then I'm gonna give 'em to you." Goten jumped on Trunks and they started fighting.  
  
Just off the elementary school grounds, Gohan leaned against the fence surrounding Goten and Trunks' school. The loud yellow busses that would carry many of the children home were already assembling along the road, and he should really be locating Goten and Trunks.  
  
Gohan slid his fingers through the chain link fence. Videl said she loved him. He still got a warm tingly feeling when he thought about it. The initial euphoria at hearing the words had faded. You'd think it would have lasted longer. Of course she had followed the declaration up with an essay on why he was a hard guy to get involved with.  
  
Well she wasn't perfect either. There was her dad. He was a nightmare scary enough to send most sensible Saijins running for the hills. Trying to be negative didn't last. Videl was his dream girl. Smart, sexy, and to his young eye as perfect as he was likely to ever find. She could have Buu for a Dad and he'd still love her.  
  
Gohan jumped and looked around. Energy in the area was spiking, like a couple of 8-year-olds about to go super-saijin. He went over the fence and lightly jogged through the schoolyard. There they were, a ball of dust fighting so fast a normal person might have problems following it.  
  
Gohan skillfully interposed himself on the battle and pulled the two scuffed up combatants apart. "You two want to get in trouble?" Gohan asked. "Fighting at school will land you both in detention."  
  
"He started it, Gohan. He let a girl kiss me," Goten shouted.  
  
"But she loooooves you, Goten," Trunks taunted.  
  
"Hey, whoever started it. It's over," Gohan said. "If you want to fight, we're going to Master Roshi's later." He stepped away from them and winced. "What's mom going to say about your school uniform. Didn't she just patch that up?"  
  
"I have twelve uniforms," Trunks said. "It doesn't matter."  
  
"Well Goten doesn't have a spare dozen at home. Mom's not going to be happy. She may not let you go with us to Master Roshi's," Gohan said. Goten frowned as though it were a truly terrible possibility. "Get your stuff now, let's go."  
  
**********************  
  
Rinback followed the sprites down the street, through the throngs of people. He reached out with his senses trying to find a powerful being nearby. The champion must be far away he mused, because he felt nothing. The sprites coalesced and hovered near the stoop of a large white building. "What is it? Are you lost?"  
  
"No master, this is the dwelling." The sprites flowed up and through the front door. Rinback puzzled at the square of wall for a moment and attacked it with an energy blast. He stepped through the smoking hole he'd made of the door. His guides led him up a flight of stairs and they passed through another door. A second energy blast, yielded similar results as the last and Rinback entered an apartment.  
  
A large, hairy, alien came barreling at him. Rinback caught the beast by the neck and held him off the ground. "Are you the champion's pet or servant?" The series of gargles and grunts that emerged from Hercule's mouth were unintelligible. "Read its mind, if it has one," Rinback ordered. The sprites flew through Hercule and Rinback tossed him aside.  
  
"He is a champion of sorts. He has no real power, but he has had dealings with some who do."  
  
"This thing is their champion." Rinback spat the ground in disgust. "Can it direct us to the actual beings of power in this world? Might any of them fit the profile?"  
  
Hercule was regaining his equilibrium. Who the heck did this clown think he was? Did he really think he could rob HERCULE?? "Hey you, you know whose apartment you just broke into? I happen to be the world martial arts champion. Now that I know what I'm dealing with, you're toast buddy." Hercule assumed a fighting stance and glared at the pretty-boy felon. Blue fire erupted from the stranger, surrounding him in a cloud of energy.  
  
"I have no desire to kill you, but if you continue to hinder me, I shall be forced to destroy you." Rinback returned his attention to the sprites. "Do we need this creature to find the others?"  
  
"No, master we know all he knows which is quite little. He fears them, the ones with power. Were they not so reclusive, he would not be considered the champion of these people, and he values that position above all his other possessions."  
  
Hercule dropped back. Sure the guy was carrying on a conversation with thin air, that meant crazy, but generally people who glow were not to be tangled with. "There's absolutely no need to kill me. Just take whatever you want, buddy."  
  
"Can we find the ones with power? Is the one we need among them?" Rinback asked.  
  
"We don't know where they are, but we may have found the one to kill you. A golden warrior, he has the power, unless this creature is mistaken."  
  
Rinback gesture impatiently. "And the profile?"  
  
The sprites nodded in unison. "Possibly. He may be made too serve."  
  
"One of you, stay with me, the rest of you go, find this warrior." The sprites scattered. Rinback allowed his energy to fade, and he faced the so- called-champion in front of him. "I seek a golden warrior. You know of him?"  
  
Hercule nodded slowly. He means that skinny kid, Videl's alien. He had to mean him. Typical of that kid to bring trouble calling. "I don't know why you came looking for him here. He and Videl are just friends, hardly that even."  
  
Rinback cocked his head to the side, interest sparking in his eyes. "Videl? Who is Videl?"  
  
"I told you, my girl doesn't have anything to do with that kid, so it doesn't matter."  
  
Rinback was across the room in a flash and he had Hercule suspended in the air by his throat again. "That was a lie. I'll wait here, for 'your girl.' My lady will be pleased." Blue energy passed through Rinback's hand and into Hercule's head. "You, my inept friend, will sleep." Hercule collapsed onto the carpet with a soft thud.  
  
Rinback sent tiny blasts of energy at all the light fixtures and settled into a dark corner to wait. 


	4. Videl!

Chapter 4  
  
Gohan watched his brother and Trunks fight from a distance. They were innocent and sweet and incredibly powerful. The spat from the schoolyard hadn't even phased them, neither seemed to be able to stay mad at the other for any length of time. He was almost jealous of their relationship. Growing up with a real peer looked like a lot of fun, at least from where he was standing. "I wonder if they'll still get along so well when they start wanting the girls to kiss them, eh?" Krillin said. He nudged Gohan in the ribs. "You and Videl still getting along?"  
  
His little kiss from earlier still fresh on his mind, Gohan went into full blush. "Hey, we're..." He had been going to say, just friends. That had been the standard response since forever, but it wasn't true anymore. "So what, we're going out."  
  
"Ha ha ha, I knew it," Krillian said. He nodded and patted Gohan on the back. "Everyone figured it was coming. That's great. She coming over to train today?"  
  
"Yeah, actually. I told her you were going to spar with her," Gohan said.  
  
Krillin frowned. "Hey, she doesn't pull any punches. Last time we sparred, I needed Ben-Gay. I'm not an old man yet either." Krillin sighed deeply. "I suppose I'll survive it though. The things I do for your love life."  
  
"Hey boys, how's it going over here," Master Roshi said. He had moved in between the Gohan and Krillin and was staring up at the rapid sparing match playing out above the ground. "Number 18 just called, something about milk and cracking your head like a walnut if you didn't bring it to her before dinner, Krillian. Thought you'd want to know."  
  
Krillian smiled nervously. "She means that in an affectionate way, really. I guess I should head out a little early then. Tell Videl, I'm sorry about missing her."  
  
******************************  
  
Piccolo faced the setting sun and allowed its rays to warm and relax him. His connection to the Earth was strongest at these quiet moments, passing from day to night or night to day. She was strong and vibrant, this planet. Piccolo breathed her through him, a normally smooth process, but something drew his attention. A sharp cold, Piccolo reached for the numb place in the pattern of the world. Something that didn't belong on this plane of existence was disrupting the very substance of reality.  
  
Piccolo's eyes snapped open. "Something is very wrong."  
  
*****************************  
  
"I am so late," Videl whispered. Office hours had been required for everyone who failed the first Calculus test, and unfortunately that included her. Well dating a brain was going to change all that. Gohan was a great tutor by all accounts. Videl jogged down the sidewalk toward her house. Gohan had probably already given up on her and gone home. It was practically dinnertime. She turned up the walk at her apartment building and her mouth dropped open at the hole in her front stoop. Who the heck would have blasted the front door off its hinges? "Dad." Videl dashed up the stairs, and sure enough, there was another hole in their apartment door. "Hey Dad, are you in here?" The light wouldn't switch on and her eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dark.  
  
A blue light erupted in the corner. Videl blinked stars out of her eyes and the room slowly came into focus. There was a man glowing in her living room, and her dad. "Daddy, are you okay." Videl dropped down beside her prostrate father and tried to shake him awake. "What did you do to him?!" Videl shouted.  
  
"The man is well, only resting. Are you the lovely Videl?" Rinback motioned for the lone sprite to go and it passed through Videl and back.  
  
"She knows. She knows. She knows. She knows." The sprite's whispers were sinister and frantic.  
  
"That's my name. Who are you? And what do you think you're doing?" Videl was holding her father's head and trying not to panic. She could fight, but this wasn't her kind of battle. It was one of those, toss energy and blow things up fights, unless she missed her guess. Not my boyfriend for one day and he's already missing vital moments. I need you, Gohan.  
  
"My name is Rinback. I'm on a holy mission for my lady. I seek a golden warrior, that you are aquainted with." He didn't openly acknowledge the sprite whispering in his ear.  
  
"You want Gohan's help on some holy quest? Why'd you attack my dad? Why did you come here?"  
  
"I came here, because your father is the acknowledged champion of this world. I thought he might be the warrior I sought, but I was wrong. He was unreasonable and tried to battle me. I thought it best for him if he slept through my visit. Killing natives isn't part of my quest. Neither is it my wish to harm your friend, Gohan." Rinback smiled at the information pouring from his sprite. This Gohan was a formidable fighter. He sounded almost too perfect. The profile, though, the damn sprite had tip toed around everything but that one very important bit of information.  
  
Videl had to acknowledge that her dad could be a bit unreasonable, and he did appear unhurt. "What is your mission, if you don't mind my asking?"  
  
Rinback paused and held out a tiny crystal similar to the one, which spawned the pixies. "I am trying to save the woman I love from a slow death. This is hers."  
  
"Give it to her!" The pixie screamed. "She loves him! Give it to HER!"  
  
Videl rested her father's head carefully on the ground and made her way over to the dully glowing man. She couldn't take her eyes off the little crystal. It glowed with it's own light, shining brightly even against his already glowing palm. Videl reached out her hand as if to touch it, but pulled back. "I'm sorry."  
  
Rinback smiled sadly. "No, you take it. I know she would like that. You are a lot like her."  
  
"MAKE HER TAKE IT!!!" the sprite shouted. It was changing colors and sparks were flying from it. "SHE MUST TAKE IT!!!!"  
  
"I shouldn't." Even as she refused her hand moved toward the tiny trinket. It was so mesmerizing. She'd just hold it for a moment. Videl's hand closed over the crystal, and she was gone in a flash of blue light.  
  
The tiny sprite immediately softened to a pale blue. "Good, good, the lady will be pleased."  
  
Rinback opened his hand and the sprite perched there. "My friend, we must now travel to this Golden Warrior, Gohan. My destiny awaits."  
  
The sprite nodded and flew to the door. "We will fly now?"  
  
"Yes fly, we must get there as soon as possible, before the lady loses too much strength." Rinback took flight after the tiny wisp of sprite and they disappeared into the night sky.  
  
**********************  
  
Piccolo was flying at top speed, toward the familiar energy signatures of his allies, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Krillin. He had considered heading straight to the sight of the disturbance, but he had a nasty suspicion he would need back up. Piccolo reflexively checked the cold numb spot in the biosphere, making sure it was still stationary. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case. "It's moving, toward them..." It couldn't be construed as anything but bad if something that felt like that thing, was headed toward Gohan and the gang at Master Roshi's. "I must arrive first and warn them." Piccolo redoubled his speed. 


	5. Stirring the Hornet's Nest

Chapter 5  
  
Gohan yawned and tried to identify some of the constellations in the sky. The grass was soft and still green, but the dew was beginning to settle.  
  
"I thought Videl was coming to train," Goten said. He was sprawled in the grass just down the hill, flanked by Trunks. Both boys were sporting matching black eyes, which was probably going to get Gohan in trouble with his Mom, not to mention Bulma.  
  
"I guess something came up," Gohan said. He really believed it too. After the talk they'd had, he didn't doubt Videl's feelings. There would be a message waiting for him at home with an excellent explanation for her absence. Admittedly, he was a little worried about her, but Videl could take care of herself. She was one tough girl.  
  
"I bet mom's almost got dinner ready. We should probably go home," Goten said. A loud rumble from his stomach punctuated the statement.  
  
Gohan gave one last look at the horizon toward Satan City and tried to sense Videl. What he did sense, stopped him cold. "Hey Goten, Trunks, you feel that." Gohan was on his feet in seconds, staring into the distance.  
  
Goten followed his brother. "I don't know. Something cold."  
  
Trunks nodded. "Now that you mention it. I don't like how that feels. You think it's a monster, like Buu?"  
  
Gohan shook his head. "It's unique. Nothing like Buu or anything else I've ever felt."  
  
"Kids, I want you to go inside and tell Master Roshi that something's coming, and then I want you to stay inside till I call you, understood," Gohan said.  
  
"Awwww no way," Trunks and Goten chimed in unison. "We want to see what's coming."  
  
"You can see from the window. Let me handle this for now. I'm the big brother. It's my job. Now go," Gohan ordered. Trunks seemed like he was going to protest, but stalked over to follow Goten inside.  
  
Gohan took the few moments left until their unannounced visitor arrived to focus. Fight with your heart, that's what his dad always told him. Maybe there wouldn't be a fight. Maybe this is just a friendly visitor. A wave of chill bumps washed over him. Friendly visitors didn't usually feel like that. At least Videl wasn't here. She wouldn't be in danger.  
  
When the new arrival finally touched down it was a bit of a let down. No big pink jelly-bellied monsters, or green armored enemy today. If anything, this guy looked like a hero out of a storybook. Long blonde hair, armor, and a cape, he was practically sir Galahad. All he needed was the white horse.  
  
"Are you the Golden warrior, Gohan?" the man asked.  
  
Gohan's mouth dropped open briefly. He hadn't expected it to be looking for him by name. "That's me. I'm afraid I don't have a clue who you are. What's your business with me?"  
  
The knightly figure bowed. "I am Rinback. I have come on a holy mission to save the life of my lady, my love. To do that, I need your help."  
  
That was different, a quest for a lover, not to save the universe. "You need my help? Well, tell me what you need. I'm generally not opposed to helping in a worthy cause."  
  
"Don't listen to that thing, Gohan." Piccolo had landed a few steps away and was glaring at Rinback. "It is dangerous and unnatural. Whatever it wants, will be destructive, I can guarantee it."  
  
Rinback's eyes went glassy blue and he glared back at Piccolo. "Whatever you are, you know me not. Do not judge my intentions. I have no desire to hurt Gohan or anyone in this world. But anyone who stands in the way of a cure for my lady, will die at my hand."  
  
Gohan shook his head. "Sorry Rinback. If Piccolo says you're a bad-egg, I have to go with his gut. He knows his bad guys. He used to be one."  
  
"But you haven't even heard my request." Rinback allowed his energy to flow freely around him. The blue fire danced over his flesh. "You will fight me, golden warrior, to the death."  
  
Gohan gasped at the energy pouring from the fighter. He wasn't Cell or Buu, but he wasn't exactly a push over either. "I may fight you, but I won't die," Gohan said.  
  
"I pray you are correct, for time is short. I truly have no desire to kill you." Rinback lifted his head and tossed his last tiny crystal into the air. It twirled and flashed reappearing as a window to nowhere. "I love you, lady!" Rinback cried into the night.  
  
Piccolo grabbed Gohan's shoulder. "If this thing wants you to win, then you can't fight. Something bad will happen. I can feel it."  
  
"Okay, but which one of us is going to ask him nicely to go home. He could cause a lot of destruction."  
  
Rinback turned on Gohan. "Remove yourself green man. I came to fight the golden fighter."  
  
Piccolo stepped between Gohan and Rinback. "There won't be a fight here today. If there is one, it will be between you and me."  
  
The entire flock of pixies had returned and were buzzing around Rinback's head. "You can't beat the green one. You must die at the other's hand. You will die, as will your lady if you fight the green one. You mustn't die until you face the golden fighter. You must face Gohan."  
  
"I will not fight you, green man." He caught Gohan's eyes and held his gaze. "If you will not fight me Gohan, then your Videl will die." The window over Rinback's head flashed and an image of Videl curled up, unconscious, on a marble floor filled it.  
  
Time stood still for a moment. Gohan had always been the rational one, the smart one, sometimes the afraid one. He hadn't lost himself in a real rage since her was a little boy. "What did you do to Videl?" Gohan's energy spiked and he shifted into his super-saijin form. There was power in rage. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."  
  
Piccolo winced. "No Gohan, he wants you to fight. Something isn't right here. Hold onto your emotions."  
  
"The only way your Videl can ever be returned to this realm, is if I die at your hands Gohan. The window above me will return her, should you kill me. Only that will open the door."  
  
There is danger in rage too. Perspective and judgment vanish. There is only the moment and the battle at hand. "I'm sorry Piccolo. He has Videl." Gohan less than gently pushed Piccolo out of his way. He turned an angry glare on Rinback. "You want to die? You came to the right place and messed with the right people." 


	6. Evil Revealed

Chapter 6  
  
Videl tried lifting her head despite dull throbbing pain, and eventually she succeeded. Slowly she opened her eyes. The light was low and very blue. She tried to get a feel for the container she was in. It couldn't be bigger than a thirty-gallon garbage can, but it was transparent. The way she was folded into it was less than comfortable. She couldn't even feel her legs. "Hello?" Her voice was croaky and unsteady. "Where am I? Somebody?"  
  
Videl struggled against the walls of her tiny prison. Punching and pushing till she was gasping, exhausted.  
  
"You can't escape," a disembodied voice announced. "You will die here."  
  
Videl fought the urge to cry unsuccessfully. "Who are you? Why are you doing this? Show yourself!"  
  
"You would like to see my face?" A ghostly image of a willowy woman with long pale hair appeared. "This has been my form of late, but I take a new one today." The woman moved around the room through her expansive crystal garden. "You met Rinback, didn't you? This is to be his place in my garden after Gohan kills him. A memorial to a fine warrior."  
  
Videl tried to get a hold on her emotions. There had to be a way out. She had to figure out what she was dealing with. Whatever this thing wanted, it hadn't just targeted her. Gohan was apparently on her agenda too. "You want Rinback to lose to Gohan? But he's fighting for you, isn't he? You're the lady he was talking about. Why would you want that?" Videl asked.  
  
The ghost-woman laughed wickedly. "He is fighting to die so that I may live. You see he loves me. I am the one and only point in his universe." She skipped over to a bare spot in the gallery between to monolithic statues. "You know I think this would be a better place for Rinback." She moved over two paces. "And Gohan, he, will stand right here, eventually. I hope he lasts a long time though. He seems delicious."  
  
Videl felt like all the blood drained right out of her. "What, you want to add Gohan to your sick little garden? Why him? Why are you doing this?" Videl started striking at her prison again. Her knuckles turned red and started to bleed but she kept on hitting, imagining that it was the creature she was striking.  
  
"Is he delicious, Videl? You love him; he loves you. Thank God for love."  
  
"You're some kind of witch or vampire or something, aren't you?" Videl whispered between punches. "Whatever you're planning won't work. Gohan is stronger than you. I'm stronger than you. You WON'T win." She punched with everything she hand and felt something break in her right hand. Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks and she cradled her hand against her chest. It couldn't win.  
  
The ghostly woman floated over to the newly blood smeared prison. "I'm not a witch, or a vampire per se. I was created by a man many millennia ago. I'm not sure exactly who it was, but I like to think he was a great and powerful sorcerer. You see, pet, I've had a lot of time to think about such things, my origins, my nature. Honestly, I am nothing more than a bit of magic discarded into a pocket universe along with a wild assortment of other failed conjurings. I think, and this is pure conjecture, that I was a failed love spell. It's hard to be sure, when you're thrown out with the trash.  
  
"I've survived in my world though. Scraping an existence out of the bits of magic and power my creator left me. Each piece of unsuccessful magic I found, I assimilated, making myself stronger. Eventually I was able to break out from this pocket universe for a short time and search for energy with which to sustain." The ghost woman placed both hands on either side of the crystalline prison containing Videl and it began to glow.  
  
"I discovered my nature in that first world. A grief stricken warrior, thought I was his dead wife. It was like instinct. His love to bind his mind and soul to me, and his life force to keep me alive and strong." The ghost-woman's form grew indistinct but when it began to recoalesce it was solid and different.  
  
Videl couldn't speak for a moment. "You look exactly like me now."  
  
The evil-Videl laughed. "Of course I do. I'm much better at surviving now, pet. Stronger warriors, deeper more perfect bindings. Eventually I won't need to retreat to this world at all. I'll be substantial enough to survive in your plane of existence."  
  
Videl felt her face turning red. How dare this thing look like her. How dare it bust into her life and destroy everything. How dare it even think about touching her Gohan! "You don't even know how strong Gohan is. You won't be able to bind his mind or his will. He'll destroy you." Videl wished she believed everything she was shouting at the monster wearing her face.  
  
Evil-Videl stroked at the casing enclosing her prey. "The only way the binding I work will fail, is if Gohan doesn't love you."  
  
Videl covered her face with her hands and tried to block out the vision of herself sneering through the crystal cage.  
  
Evil-Videl did a perfect pirouette and beamed at her prisoner. "Don't you worry either. I plan to keep you around, pet, for at least a few years." She waved her hand over the front panel of Videl's cage and it came to life with images of Gohan and Rinback. "You should watch the battle with me. I expect it to be short. I have finally drained dear Rinback to a shadow of his former self."  
  
****************************  
  
Goten and Trunks were resting their chins on the windowsill and Master Roshi was standing just over them.  
  
"I can't believe Gohan made us come inside. We're not babies," Trunks complained.  
  
"I know. I can hardly see them from here," Goten said. "Oh, he must have made Gohan mad, see that."  
  
"I feel that," Trunks said. "He really made Gohan mad."  
  
Piccolo was unable to stifle the sense of impending disaster as the two fighters collided in mid air. A flurry of blows left Rinback on the ground spitting up blood after only a few minutes of fighting. Gohan landed near him and waited for the fighter to get up so he could hit him some more. Kidnap Videl. Attack Videl. He wasn't getting up though.  
  
It was a joke. The flashy display of power at the beginning of the battle was hollow. This Rinback fellow wasn't up to the fight by a long shot. He still wasn't getting up. Maybe he was already dying. The initial blind rage of the battle faded. It wasn't right to kill someone who was virtually defenseless. "I don't need to kill you, do I? Concede and return Videl. Go home, while you still can," Gohan said. He pulled the knight up by his collar.  
  
Rinback managed a weak outburst of power, which freed him from Gohan's grip, and he landed on his feet. "Fight me, kill me, or watch the girl die."  
  
It was hard to keep from surrendering to the rage, the threat against Videl provoked, but with a supreme effort of will, Gohan allowed himself to power- down. For some reason this man wanted to die. He wanted to die at Gohan's hand. What option was there though? Watch Videl die? That wasn't an option. "For Videl, I'd do almost anything. Including, if you make me, killing you." Gohan offered the fighter his last chance. "Surrender?"  
  
Rinback shook his head slowly and deliberately. "You fight for your lady. I fight, for mine. It is a great symmetry and dance. When the dance is perfect, her power is unimaginable. We must fight."  
  
The poor bastard didn't even make any sense. Well he could, not-make-sense in the afterlife. "I can't say I'm sorry then." Gohan slowly powered back up. He drew into his personal well of energy and unleashed a small portion of it on the injured fighter in front of him.  
  
A battered bloody form, Rinback dropped to his knees. Slowly, a crimson stain expanded out from him onto the grass. As his life slipped away, Rinback saw his existence for what it was. A look of peace passed over his face. Freedom at last, the spider who had held him in her web finally released her hold. "Thank you," Rinback whispered. He wanted to cry out with his last breath, a warning to the fighter who had freed him. That same spider would consume him as well. But darkness clouded his vision and he slipped from the world.  
  
******************************  
  
Videl watched in abject horror as Rinback fell forward. "Gohan, we're in trouble here. You have to do something or we're dead." Videl shut her eyes and tried to think of something she could do. Punching the crystalline prison wasn't working. There was the ka-me-ha-me-ha wave, Gohan had tried to teach her. Of course she hadn't trained with Gohan for a while and she'd never actually pulled it off.  
  
She could hear Gohan's patient voice in her head. Reach down inside yourself and focus all the potential energy in your body. Project it outwards, punch it. Videl screamed, "KaaaMeeeeHaaaaMeeeeHaaaaaaa!!!" The blast was puny compared to the energy her Gohan threw about casually, but a crack appeared in the cage. Her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. I have to do it again. "God, I have to hurry."  
  
*******************************  
  
Gohan turned toward the window in the air and was just in time to catch Videl when she fell. "Videl, can you hear me? Gohan dropped down to one knee and tried to bring her around. "Come on, I want to hear your excuse for standing me up this afternoon." Gohan's smile was brittle. "Wake up and tell me to go to Hell."  
  
Piccolo kept staring. The wrongness hadn't dissipated with Rinback's death. It was stronger if anything.  
  
Videl's eyes opened and she pulled away from Gohan for a moment. "What happened?"  
  
"Some guy kidnapped you, but you're safe now," Gohan said. He hugged her tight. "I could have lost you. I'm so sorry this happened." Videl kissed the blood staining Gohan's shirt, Rinback's blood.  
  
Piccolo gasped. Gohan's energy, his very essence was changing. "Gohan she isn't Videl. Get away from her, now!" Piccolo flew at the couple but the fake-Videl held up her hand and cast a shield.  
  
She had to finish the binding before these creatures interfered. She could feel the layers of the spell strengthening locking together, reshaping this creature's perception to follow her will and love her for it.  
  
Piccolo was rebuffed by the shield but only for a moment. Slowly, he began to penetrate the wall of energy. 


	7. The Web Closes

Chapter 7  
  
The Evil-Videl stood with a flourish and Gohan rose behind her. "Protect me from him," she said, indicating Piccolo. She allowed the shield to drop and stepped back.  
  
Gohan shifted to super-Saijin. The golden power, his birthright, was different, flecked with blue and shades of green, as though his aura itself were gangrenous. His face a silent mask, he advanced on Piccolo.  
  
A look of pure horror crossed Piccolo's face. The numbing evil he'd felt, Gohan was now an extension of it. Would he really attack? Could he fight his friend and teacher? Gohan answered that question when he launched himself at Piccolo. "God help us all."  
  
Piccolo took the battle defensively, countering and dodging whenever he could, never launching an aggressive attack, hoping that Gohan would come to his senses. The kid wasn't unleashing any devastating energy blasts, and to Piccolo that said something. He didn't appear to be trying to kill him. Maybe he was fighting whatever was controlling him.  
  
Evil-Videl leaned down over Rinback and retrieved the variety of crystal spells she'd sent with him. With a wave she bound the hovering pixies back in their crystal. Then she used a different crystal to levitate Rinback through the gateway to her world. "Gohan, keep them away from the gate. I will be right back. I need to get some things ready." Her new lover didn't pause in his battle with the green-skinned fellow, but there was no need for acknowledgment, his will belonged to her.  
  
Once through the gate, Evil-Videl began to chant over the body of Rinback. He had been a powerful acquisition and a loyal lover. He would not be forgotten in her garden. Now his flesh as crystal would be given the honor of storing excess energy, as her other former lovers did.  
  
All of her consciousness was required to change Rinback to crystal, but she committed that attention without fear. What did she have to fear in this dead world? She neither saw nor sensed the blow, which struck her in the back of the head. It killed the body she was animating, but she knew immediately where the attack had originated. "Videl, how did you escape?" Videl spun slowly, looking for the origin of the disembodied voice. "Do you think you've helped? That body was no more than a fingernail, a piece of furniture with which to trap my next meal. And I have that. Your Gohan is more than I'd ever dreamed. His energy is intoxicating. I don't know if I'll be able to stand this much pleasure."  
  
Videl blinked the tears out of her eyes. That thing was lying. It didn't have control of Goahn, and if it did? "This isn't over, beast. You haven't won yet."  
  
"You think you can fight me? I'm smoke, formless magic. I can't be killed only weakened and starved." A laugh, which shook the cathedral erupted from nowhere. "I'm engorging myself even now. The boy fights with his heart and soul. Delicious."  
  
**************************  
  
Goten and Trunks exchanged puzzled looks. "Gohan is gone," Trunks said. "His energy isn't out there anymore."  
  
"But the bad guys just got a whole lot stronger," Master Roshi said.  
  
"Yeah, and that looks a lot like Gohan out there fighting Piccolo," Goten said. "We Haf-to help. Right Trunks?" Trunks nodded and went super- saijin. Goten followed suit.  
  
Master Roshi didn't protest; it looked like Piccolo could use the help. It would be nice to know what the heck was going on, but this fight was a bit out of his league.  
  
Outside, Piccolo felt the children power up. It was time to try something, before things got out of hand. He launched his first actual attack on Gohan, knocking him back a few hundred feet and down into the earth. Hopefully, his attack would buy him enough time to act. He met the two kids in the air and held his hand out stopping their questions before they were uttered. "Gohan is being controlled by some type of creature. If we're going to save him, we have to destroy the monster."  
  
Goten and Trunks nodded. "What do we do?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Dampen your energy and sneak through that gate in the air, there. The creature looks like Videl, or it did. Kill it and come back as quickly as you can. I doubt the gate will outlive the creature by much. I'll keep Gohan busy. Now go, quickly."  
  
The two children were barely out of sight when Gohan launched himself into Piccolo's stomach. "Let's not do anything you're going to regret in the morning," Piccolo said. "Like kill me."  
  
****************  
  
Videl brandished the piece of statue she'd plundered from what had looked like a giant crab and wandered slowly through the crystal garden. There had to be a way to kill the creature, no matter what it said. There had to be a way. The psychotic thing hadn't even deemed to talk to her since declaring its immortality. Videl wiped a line of tears off her face angrily. How could Gohan have let that thing control him? Was he so weak and easy to fool? He shouldn't have let the thing touch him. He should have known it wasn't her.  
  
Videl heard approaching footsteps and ducked behind a larger statue.  
  
"I get to kill it. It's controlling my brother. I have dibs."  
  
"No you don't. I'm older, and I'm the world champion. I get to kill it."  
  
Videl let out her breath. It was Goten and Trunks. With their help, maybe she could stop this thing, what ever it was. "Goten, Trunks, thank God." Videl stepped out of her hiding place and let her club rest on the ground.  
  
The boys exchanged a look. "Piccolo said it looked like Videl," Trunks said.  
  
"That looks like Videl," Goten responded.  
  
Videl gasped. They think I'm it. "WAIT, I am Videl," she cried.  
  
Trunks squinted at her. "What if she really is Videl? How are we supposed to tell?"  
  
"Well she looks like Videl and she feels like Videl," Goten said. He shrugged to Trunks. "I don't know."  
  
Videl was trembling with pain and frustration. Damn, damn, damn, help arrives and it can't identify the enemy. "Just wait. Goten, I learned to fly at the same time as you. Gohan taught us. And Trunks, you're the junior world martial arts champion. You beat my dad in an exhibition match. How would some monster know that?" Videl said. She gripped her club tighter and prepared to run. She wasn't any match for these two. If they went after her she was dead, and she needed their help. "We have to kill this thing. You have to help me?"  
  
"I don't know Trunks, but I think this is the real Videl," Goten said.  
  
Trunks nodded. "Unless she proves us wrong we have to trust her."  
  
Videl felt a small degree of the tension leave her body. Now they just had to do the impossible and kill an immortal. "The thing in here, it's controlling Gohan, isn't it?" Videl whispered. She needed the confirmation of what she already knew. Trunks and Goten nodded. "Well we have to kill it. I don't know how. It claims to be immortal, a puff of magic that can't be fought, particularly when it has someone as powerful as Gohan to feed on, but we have to find a way. At least we have to try."  
  
"I don't get it. How do we fight a puff of magic?" Goten said.  
  
Videl laughed harshly. How was she supposed to know? "This is a blind guess, but I think maybe, this place has a heart. If we find it, then maybe, we can hurt the thing inside it."  
  
Trunks turned a slow circle and smiled a little. "Are you sure you can't sense energy, because you're right. Everything is radiating from a center point."  
  
Goten nodded. "Good, let's hurry, before Gohan hurts Piccolo." 


	8. A Complicated Victory

Chapter 8 A Complicated Victory  
  
The immortal puff of magic on everyone's mind had withdrawn to her center, the crystal that held her original pattern for all intents and purposes her body. The annoying bitch, Videl, had destroyed her current choice in forms and she would need a new one. As powerful as the binding she had worked was, physical contact with Gohan would make it stronger, particularly in the early days when his free will might still struggle against her from time to time. Wresting a corporeal form from the energy and raw materials available was not an easy task, especially with the distracting pulse of her new lover glowing so very radiantly.  
  
The sense of danger was abrupt when it finally pierced the creature's concentration. Losing the copy of Videl had been an inconvenience. If the girl found her true form and attacked while her protector, Gohan, was so far, she might be destroyed. Such a catastrophe could not happen. The little twit shouldn't have been able to find her way through the garden, the maze of statues. But she wasn't alone. There were three. "How?" Then she was throwing out her reach through the portal to Gohan. "Protect me. COME. You let them THROUGH. They will KILL ME!!"  
  
Videl was the first to step onto the altar at the center of the cathedral. "This is it, isn't it. That tiny crystal is all she is."  
  
Goten and Trunks joined her and nodded. "So who kills it?" Goten asked.  
  
Videl didn't give them a chance to argue. She raised the club she'd been carrying. "I do." One hard blow shattered the crystal into a million pieces. Videl smiled as the blue fire died in the shards. She'd expected more from the death of an all-powerful indestructible foe. "Not so immortal after all."  
  
"That works," Trunks said. "But next time, I get to kill the monster."  
  
Goten grabbed Videl by the arm. "We haf-to fly fast now. Piccolo said the door wouldn't stay open long after we killed the monster. I'll try not to hurt you, but we haf-to hurry."  
  
****************  
  
Gohan froze in the middle of pummeling Piccolo. "They'll kill her, the lady. I have to stop them."  
  
Piccolo mentally congratulated Trunks and Goten. Now he just had to keep Gohan out of the way. "You haven't finished with me yet, boy." Piccolo growled.  
  
Gohan glared with real hatred at the man standing between himself and his new mission. His energy level jumped twice before leveling out. "I've been kind to you so far, old man. Don't make me kill you." Then like someone cut the strings on a marionette, Gohan's power faltered and he collapsed. A very battered and bloody Piccolo caught Gohan before he could fall all the way to Earth and turned toward the already destabilizing dimensional hole. "Hurry, boys. Time is short." Only after both children, Videl in tow, emerged from the gateway, did Piccolo relax.  
  
But all wasn't well with the world. The cold still form in his arms, looked like Gohan, but the death of the evil-creature didn't appear to have reversed all its mascinations. The energy boiling beneath the surface was still corrupted, and cold.  
  
Goten turned to Trunks. "Hey, we did it. We saved Gohan and Videl."  
  
Trunks nodded. "Yeah, we're probably the best heroes on the planet."  
  
Master Roshi pulled his door open and headed out toward the battlefield. "Is everyone okay? What happened?"  
  
Videl had made it to Piccolo's side and was stroking Gohan's head and crying. "We killed it, so he's going to be okay. He shouldn't be cold like that, should he?"  
  
Piccolo hiked Gohan up in his arms. "Let's get him to bed." Videl tried to follow but her knees buckled.  
  
"I got you there," Master Roshi said. He caught Videl and helped her on the short walk to his house.  
  
"Hey Piccolo, is Gohan okay? We beat the bad guy. Well, Videl helped a little," Goten said.  
  
Piccolo placed Gohan on Master Roshi's bed and moved back, tactically ignoring all questions and comments.  
  
Videl made her way across the room with Master Roshi's help and added her question to the pot. "He's going to be okay. You can tell can't you, Piccolo? Should we call an ambulance?" The strain of the past hours was beginning to catch up with Videl. She couldn't seem to keep focused on the conversation. She just wanted Gohan to wake up and smile. She wanted him to tell her not to worry.  
  
Piccolo exchanged a long look with Master Roshi. "He is poisoned, his energy signature."  
  
"It's all wrong," Master Roshi said. "Maybe he'll shake it off. Hard to tell. Never seen anything like it."  
  
"If it's poison we should get help. They have medicines," Videl said without really thinking. Wake up Gohan. Look at me.  
  
Piccolo grunted. He knew Videl wasn't as oblivious as that comment indicated. "It isn't that type of poison."  
  
"Can we help?" Goten asked. Trunks nodded solemnly.  
  
Master Roshi stood up a little straighter. He knew how to help kids deal with a bad situation. Let them help, and keep them busy. "Of course you can. Both of you need to go home and let your mothers know you're okay. Goten, you tell Chi Chi to come here as soon as she possibly can." The two boys nodded, satisfied with their missions.  
  
Videl was going to brush Gohan's hair back off his cool forehead, but his eyes were open and he was staring at her. "Gohan, are you okay?"  
  
Gohan squeezed his eyes shut. What was happening to him. The last thing he remembered, Videl had been in his arms, then he was numb, like someone shot his mind full of Novocain. The moment replayed in his mind again. Videl did something to him. He stared hard at her. He wasn't angry, or sad, or curious. He didn't feel anything. "I feel weird, detached, like nothing can touch me."  
  
Videl smiled and shrugged. "You're going to be okay. That thing tried to poison you and control you, but you're going to shake it off." He was going to smile and say everything was okay now. Videl was trembling and fresh tears were threatening to spill over. Just smile.  
  
Master Roshi placed a hand on Videl's shoulder. "Do you know what that thing was trying to do? Maybe we'd be able to help Gohan if we knew more."  
  
Videl looked up at Master Roshi and scrunched her shoulders together. "She talked to me some. That thing, she was like a parasite. She needed energy to perpetuate herself." A harsh rasp that might have been a laugh escaped her lips. "The funny thing was, originally she was some sort of failed love spell. A sorcerer just threw all his failed spells into this pocket dimension and she being the most powerful spell there, became dominant." Videl paused for a long moment and turned back to Gohan. Why didn't he ask her if she was okay? Why didn't he smile. Gohan would smile. He'd tell her not to worry.  
  
Master Roshi squeezed her shoulder and nodded. "Is that all you know."  
  
Videl shook her head. "Sorry. Ummm... She, that thing needed a powerful being to help perpetuate her growth and for sustenance. Because of her nature they had to be in love first. You see, she used their love to bind their mind and will to her, then she fed off them for as long as possible."  
  
Master Roshi and Piccolo exchanged another long look. Whatever was going on with Gohan's energy signature was not a good sign. An emotionally cauterized Super-Sajin could become a dangerous commodity by anyone's standards.  
  
Master Roshi offered Videl his arm. "You need to get cleaned up. I'll help you to the bathroom."  
  
"I don't want to leave just yet," Videl said. He wasn't okay. How could she just leave him lying there so quiet. Master Roshi was tugging at her gently. He wasn't going to let her stay. "Just, let me." Videl leaned over Gohan and brushed her lips over his forehead. "I love you."  
  
Piccolo waited until the door to the bedroom clicked shut and he took Videl's seat. "I need to test you a bit." Gohan just stared expressionless at his friend. Piccolo took Gohan's hand, pinched the skin together, and twisted. The initial spinal reflex to pain caused his hand to jerk for a moment but Gohan's expression didn't change, and he showed no sign of removing his hand from the stimulus. "Do you feel this?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Don't you want it to stop?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
Piccolo let Gohan's hand drop, a purple bruise gathering under its skin. A complete blank slate, if he didn't improve, he might as well be dead. "I'll ask you that again tomorrow. Maybe you'll have a better answer." A thousand memories flitted past Piccolo's mind's eye from the crybaby he'd abandoned in the wilderness to the proud warrior who defeated Cell. Gohan had been his student, but more importantly he'd been his first real friend.  
  
The bedroom door banged open and Chi Chi rushed in, Goten following close behind. He must have flown her. "What happened? Is Gohan hurt?" Chi Chi's voice was near panic.  
  
Goten froze barely through the door. "Mom, he really doesn't feel like Gohan at all anymore," he whispered. Piccolo moved back and let Chi Chi over to the bedside. "Piccolo, what's wrong with him?" Goten whispered while tugging on the Namek's cloak. "Is he okay?"  
  
Chi Chi quickly tired of trying to communicate with her silent son. She spun around. "What happened? I've seen livelier frozen dinners." Panic danced in her eyes and played across her tense expression.  
  
Piccolo shook his head sadly. "A creature we fought bound his will. Now he doesn't appear to be experiencing any emotions, no desires, not even a self-preservation drive. Hopefully, it won't last."  
  
Chi Chi glared at the Namek, who just declared her son an emotional zombie. "Hopefully? I don't think so. You're going to do something, or so help me."  
  
Goten slipped past the two adults and stood next to the bed. "Hey Gohan, you want to go home? Mom fixed roast beast. It's really good. I'm sure you'll feel better if you eat something. Come on, we'll go out the back way, since they're fighting." Gohan didn't argue. He let his little brother lead him out into the back yard. "Lets fly, okay. Just follow me." 


	9. Sleeping Heart

Chapter 9  
  
Piccolo stood quietly while Chichi vented her formidable temper at him. Maybe being around some strong emotions would help wake Gohan up. Piccolo himself wished he had someone or something to punish for hurting his young friend.  
  
"HEY!" Master Roshi rushed into the bedroom. "Who let Goten leave with our broken Saijin?"  
  
Chichi paused in her tirade to look at the empty bed behind her. "Goten probably just took him home," she said.  
  
"I'll go after them. Gohan is very dangerous in his current state." Piccolo strode toward the front door.  
  
Chichi frowned and followed Piccolo. "What do you mean he's dangerous? I thought you said he didn't have any will. You think he'll hurt Goten?"  
  
Piccolo paused with his back to the room. "He is very suggestable; he might do anything. No remorse, no regrets, no inhibitions, but nothing to drive him to act either. It's suggestions that will cause trouble. Whatever Goten says to him could have dire consequences."  
  
Videl stood quietly, unnoticed, in the bathroom doorway. She heard what Piccolo told Chichi, and she wanted to scream. No will of his own, that inhuman monster had crippled the thing that really made Gohan special, his mind and soul. "I have to see him." It couldn't be as bad as Piccolo seemed to think. They said he might shake it all off. He had to shake it off. She'd make him okay. She thought she'd come to grips with the fact that she would probably loose Gohan eventually, but he wasn't leaving her yet, not like this.  
  
*************************  
  
Goten and Gohan touched down in their front yard almost simultaneously. Goten kept looking at Gohan searchingly. His brother wasn't ever this quiet. "So let's go in and eat dinner," Goten said. Gohan nodded and followed him. Goten rubbed the back of his neck where the hairs were bristling. Nobody should be so quiet.  
  
The kitchen table was loaded with bowls of food. Chichi was used to feeding young growing Saijins. Everything had happened so quickly, the food was still warm and steamy. Goten took his seat and Gohan emulated him. Every move Goten made, scooping out some potatoes, slurping his soup, Gohan would copy him. Goten started stirring his rice methodically, over and over, just because he was getting annoyed, but Gohan, unfazed, continued to imitate him. "Stop it," Goten shouted. "Just act normal. Eat like you normally do."  
  
Gohan immediately stopped copying his brother. He could remember exactly how he normally would eat, even if he couldn't remember why.  
  
After most of the food had been devoured, Goten pushed his seat away. "Wait here, okay. I want to get something." Goten ran out of the kitchen and upstairs. He had already made Gohan's birthday present. Sure he wasn't supposed to give it away quiet yet, but these were special circumstances. Presents always made people feel better.  
  
Goten was back downstairs in a few moments with a purple and orange rumpled package behind his back. "Hey Gohan, come here." Gohan left the kitchen table and stood silently motionless in front of his brother. Goten presented the package with a flourish. "Open it, open it."  
  
In one efficient motion the wrapping was removed and Gohan was left holding a lopsided orange picture frame. "Mom, gave me the picture for it. She made it at the last World Martial Arts Tournament. Do you like it?"  
  
Gohan examined the present carefully. It was structurally unsound and the picture had, himself, Krillin, Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, Master Roshi, Piccolo, Goku, Chichi, Goten, and Videl. It didn't occur to him to associate relationships like mother and father with the people in the picture. He still needed to answer Goten's question, 'did he like it?' Why would he like it? Why wouldn't he? "I don't know."  
  
Goten frowned. "What do you mean you don't know? Either you do or you don't. You can't NOT know if you like something."  
  
Gohan frowned down at the item. "I don't know." The binds of power which were sealing his emotions shifted and struggled to keep his will bound. The binding had lost its master, and Gohan's will was still fresh and strong beneath it. Goten's simple demand was pushing the spell to its limit.  
  
"Goten, come here." Piccolo had finally arrived and was watching Gohan carefully.  
  
Goten left his brother staring at his present. "What? I'm trying to help Gohan feel better. I gave him his birthday present early and we had dinner, but he's still acting real weird."  
  
"You left your mother at Master Roshi's, and you were supposed to wait for her. She wants you to go back right now," Piccolo said. He steered Goten out the door.  
  
"But Piccolo, what about Gohan?"  
  
"I'll take care of him. Go." Piccolo returned to Gohan. "What are you doing?"  
  
Gohan offered Piccolo the picture. "I'm examining my present."  
  
Piccolo took the picture and almost-smiled. "It is a good picture." But it was an ugly thing that being had done to Gohan. Now they needed time to figure out what to do with him until he got better, assuming he did. "You should be in bed. Go to sleep and stay there until I come and wake you tomorrow." Gohan obeyed Piccolo without question. Piccolo shuddered at the blind compliance, an ugly thing. He left the picture on the entry-hall table and headed back to Master Roshi's. There was a lot to discuss.  
  
Gohan lay on his bed and closed his eyes. He was supposed to sleep, but he couldn't. He needed to know if he liked the picture. Goten asked him if he liked it and he had to know one way or the other. He couldn't not know. Like a taunt rope unraveling, the spell binding his emotions let one desire escape. He wanted the picture. He needed to see it and figure it out. And another bit of his will broke free, he wasn't going to sleep until he understood it. Gohan pounded down the stairs and searched through the house methodically.  
  
"There," he whispered. He slid his picture off the table and headed back to his room. On his bed, he sat and stared at the photo by moonlight, reciting the names of the people who were staring back at him. Do I like it? The spell began to unwind more rapidly and tears sprang to his eyes. He remembered, Mom and Dad, and his brother, and Videl… He remembered happiness and love, and sadness and fear. He remembered losing his father and seeing him again before they fought Buu. It was all so overwhelming, like living his whole life again in a matter of seconds. He'd been empty and now he was full.  
  
*********************  
  
Videl stared up at Gohan's window. She could just see his profile. "I can rile him up, get his emotions pumping." She jumped into the air and hovered for a moment outside his window. He turned to look at her and she gasped. He was crying. God, he was okay. Videl pulled the window open and crawled inside. Like she was afraid they weren't real she wiped the tears on Gohan's cheeks. "You're really crying. You're okay?"  
  
Gohan wanted to shout he was so full of energy. Videl touching him sent him through a hundred degrees of love and lust that felt so good. He hadn't been cut off from his emotions for very long but it might as well have been forever. Now he just wanted... He kissed her and tried to share some of the sweet emotions burning at his brain with her, to show her what he was feeling.  
  
Videl pulled back, a little shocked by the kiss that took her breath away. He was definitely feeling something.  
  
"I'm sorry. Everything just feels so much better, sweeter, than it did. It was like I was dead inside, but not anymore." He touched her face. "I wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss you. Really kiss you. So I did."  
  
Videl felt tears slip over her lashes. "Why don't you check again, just to be sure we both know what it feels like?" It all seemed so ludicrous now, the fear that had made her try to distance herself from Gohan, and the emotions she had for him. Every second they were apart was a waste.  
  
The second kiss was longer, slow and sweet. Videl pulled back one last time. "I love you."  
  
Gohan ran his hands along her shoulders and kissed all the bruises and cuts he could see. "I know. I loved you first." 


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
The flash of a camera brought Hercule out of the stupor he'd spent most his day and night in. "Hey, who's there. What's going on?" He blinked and shook the cob-webs out of his head.  
  
A largish group of police officers were moving through his apartment, taking pictures, dusting for fingerprints, and an EMT was poking and prodding him. "Hey, I asked you people what's going on here!?"  
  
One of the detectives stooped over. "Well Mr. Satan, we originally thought you were robbed and left for dead, but as there are so many valuable items laying around, we decided maybe it was some sort of personal attack. Then we thought better. You are the world martial arts champion, who could knock you out like that."  
  
The EMT cut in. "Then I told them you were showing signs that you had received a massive electrical shock."  
  
"I mean look at you hair, man," the photographer said.  
  
"My hair?" Hercule began patting his head.  
  
"It always looks like that. Don't you watch television?" the EMT said. "I have valid medical reasons for my proposition. He's registering a mild magnetic charge and look at the burn on his face."  
  
The detective nodded and waved the two men quiet. "Frankly, we think it was a freak lightning strike. There was some lightning in the area yesterday. The captain's convinced that's what happened." The detective pulled out a note pad. "So, is that what happened?"  
  
Hercule tried to remember what had happened the day before. "I was struck by lightning?"  
  
"We think so. Don't you live with your daughter? Might she have been in the apartment when this freak accident occurred?"  
  
"Videl, I don't know. She isn't here?"  
  
*************************  
  
Piccolo led Chi Chi and Goten into their home. He'd given them strict instructions about how they were to speak to Gohan. If he hadn't improved from the night before, they would have to tell him to eat and sleep and perform daily necessities. It would not be a pleasant experience. "I'll go upstairs to check for improvement," Piccolo said.  
  
Chi Chi nodded and herded Goten inside. "I'll get some breakfast going. Goten, you go get ready for school."  
  
Piccolo squeezed up the narrow staircase and entered Gohan's room. The young man was asleep, just as Piccolo had ordered. Piccolo crouched down next to the bed and gently shook his friend. "Are you awake?"  
  
Gohan blinked sleepily. "Yeah, now I am." Piccolo took his hand and started to pinch the bruise he caused yesterday. Gohan immediately pulled his hand back. "Watch it. You don't need to poke at me. I'm okay now."  
  
Piccolo was unable to contain a real smile. "Then you're back to your old self."  
  
A loud squeal emerged from next door. Immediately Goten could be heard shouting down to his mom. "Nobody told me Videl slept over. She's in the shower right now. Do I haf-to take one? I'll be late for school."  
  
Gohan's face turned bright red. "I can explain."  
  
Piccolo's smile grew a fraction and a low chuckle escaped. "Save it for your mother. She'll be more interested."  
  
*******************  
  
Energy and presence was lost for a time but consciousness never faltered. It was hours before the cathedral of statues in its silent unchanging pocket dimension, reverberated with the tortured screams of it's thwarted mistress. The ghostly form the creature assumed, when it finally mustered the power, remained that of Videl.  
  
The only thing that had saved her from absolute destruction was her garden of statues. She had placed a bit of her core pattern in each of them. Unfortunately, it had taken so long to realign with her new core, that all contact with her power source, Gohan, had been lost.  
  
Gohan had been stronger than she'd ever imagined a fighter could be, and he'd slipped through her grasp. To have tasted such energy and have it stripped away was an agony. Not only that but she'd lost Rinback. His body, decaying on the floor, would never become one of her statues, a battery to store the excess energy she milked from her alcolytes, but also a memento of their time, their love.  
  
The screams gradually faded, and a peace seemed to fall over the creature's face. She rested her ghostly head against the cool crystal of one of the more bizarre creatures in her possession. "Still I survive. As long as there is life and love to be bound, I shall continue." She stroked one of the many tentacles of the statue and power danced over her fingertips. "I will return, Golden Warrior, and finish what I started."  
  
The End --- I'll be posting a follow-up one shot silly fic entitled Gohan Eternal Fashion Victim momentarily. I needed a laugh after writing this one.  
  
Anyway, thanks for the positive response to my first DBZ fic. Happy reading and writing and I'll see you around the feedback pages. :) 


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